President Obama Joins Twitter: 'Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really!'

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Hey, guess who just joined Twitter? President Obama, with the handle @POTUS, sent out his first message Monday at about 11:35 a.m.:

“Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.”

As of about 12:25 p.m., the leader of the free world had 227,000 followers. His wife Michelle Obama has 1.85 million followers, but who’s counting?

Michelle Obama tweeted to her husband: “It’s about time, @POTUS!” --mo”

Obama is following 65 other Twitter users so far, including his wife, Vice President Biden, former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, members of his Cabinet and federal agencies.

Obama describes himself as: “Dad, husband, and 44th President of the United States.”

His Twitter cover photo shows Obama and his family in Selma, Ala., participating in a walk to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” Civil Rights march in Selma.

There is also a nod to government transparency on the president’s Twitter page, with the note: Tweets may be archived: http://wh.gov/privacy.

Check out some of the comments the President is getting on Twitter, including from Michelle Obama and Vice President Biden: